ALCentral_Minnesota Twins

2014 Kansas City Gameday HQ

MINNESOTA TWINS
5-YEAR SCORECARD
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
WINS 66 66 63 94 87
RUNS PER GAME 3.79 4.33 3.82 4.82 5.01
RUNS ALLOWED PER GAME 4.86 5.14 4.96 4.14 4.72
OPENING-DAY PAYROLL (millions) $82 $100 $113 $97 $65
Brian Dozier
2014 STRENGTHS:
• Strong bullpen
• Excellent defense
2014 WEAKNESSES:
• Inability to score runs
• Question marks in starting rotation
The glory days of yesteryear (when
the Twins won six division titles and
had nine winning seasons from 2001-
2010) are a distant memory. Now it’s
about taking baby steps to get back
to respectability. This year will be
another step toward that, but likely
not a big one.
HITTING
The Twins scored the third fewest runs in
the AL last year (614) and didn’t do much to
address the situation in the offseason. Sure,
they signed reliable catcher Kurt Suzuki, but
he’s a bottom-of-the-lineup guy. The biggest
offensive positive from picking up Suzuki is Joe
Mauer gets to move from catcher to first full
time. That should save his legs a little and boost
his already solid offensive numbers. The Twins
are also hoping outfielder Josh Willingham has
a bounce back season after hitting 21 fewer
homers in 2013 than 2012 (35-14). But that’s
no given. Oswaldo Arcia, 22, has shown flashes
of offensive promise, but he’s young and still
largely untested. Brian Dozier hit 18 homers
last year, but there’s a lack of depth to the
lineup behind Mauer, Willingham and Arcia.
Even if those four perform well, the Twins
will likely finish in the bottom third of the AL
in runs, again.
AL Central
HANNAH FOSLIEN/GETTY IMAGES SPORT